WESTERN Bulldogs midfielder Daniel Cross says the AFL must reconsider the amendment to the advantage rule that saw him incur a costly penalty against St Kilda last Friday night.

The 28-year-old said he was left "shattered" after the new interpretation of the advantage rule that enables players to determine if play goes on cost the Dogs possession and saw the Saints kick a goal in what basically saw a 12-point turnaround in the third quarter.

The Saints went on to win the game by 24 points.

Cross joined the chorus of those against the interpretation - including Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade and St Kilda coach Ross Lyon - and said it had been one of the hardest rule changes to get used to.

"As a player, and certainly for me having been involved in it first hand, I definitely think it needs to be looked at again," he told afl.com.au this week.

"It is one of the hardest to get used to, and we've seen it on many occasions; the [Scott] Pendlebury one where he kicked a goal [against Geelong], and I'm sure there's been quite a few other instances in other games.

"It's confusing and it'll take time but most of the rule changes have worked pretty well but this is one where I think the umpires are a little bit unsure as to what is advantage as well.

"It's a work in progress, obviously."

The incident happened deep in the Dogs' attacking arc late in the third quarter when the Saints were leading by 16 points.

Nathan Djerrkura had won a free kick for high contact from Clint Jones in a marking contest, and the ball had spilled out before Cross picked it up and took two steps before a whistle blew and he stopped dead.

The umpire then called play on and Cross quickly attempted to dispose of the ball, which was then taken up field by the Saints and ended in a goal to Nick Dal Santo.

"I picked up the ball just naturally, just wanting to hunt the ball, and then I heard the whistle and I stopped, seeing there was no advantage," Cross explained.

"I turned around and put my hands up and because there was no advantage to our team, so I was going to throw it back to Nathan and before I knew it, he was looking at me, calling play on.

"I was stunned and shocked because there was no advantage, and then I had to get rid of the ball and it was whisked away.

"It was frustrating at the time because they scored down the other end and cost us a goal.

"Looking back now, it was probably a silly thing to do but at the time, I thought I was doing the right thing by pulling up and not taking the advantage."

If Djerrkura had taken his kick and converted, the Dogs would have trailed by just 10 points as the game approached three-quarter time.

Cross said he was devastated after the match, which saw the Dogs record their eighth loss for the season.

"It wasn't only for that; that's one instance in a game but it's a hard time for us and it's only because you wear your heart on your sleeve and all the guys here love the club and our supporters," he said.

"We want to win for us and for them and the coaches and everyone.

"To me, it was one little thing that went towards us not being able to win, so that's why I looked so dejected after the game."

He said he had put the incident behind him after talking it out with Eade, who after the game expressed his dislike of the rule change but admitted Cross had done the wrong thing by picking up the ball.

"We had a private conversation about it but those sorts of things can happen in the spur of the moment," he said.

"I won't go into what was spoken about in private but you learn from your mistakes and move on."

Earlier in the week, AFL director of umpiring Jeff Gieschen said the umpire made the right decision based on the new interpretation, and Cross had been subject to a "harsh lesson".

He also said there was "terrific merit" in the rule and asked players and clubs to "give it time".